Former State Sen. Carlos Uresti, whose fall from grace included a 12-year prison sentence, will be released today from federal custody, the Express-News reports.
The 61-year-old former Democratic politician will be a free man after serving roughly five years and 10 months of the sentence he received after he was found guilty of money laundering and wire fraud related to a Ponzi scheme.
“Some thought I would fail or break, but I stand here wiser, stronger, and a better man with the help of my family and friends,” Uresti said in a statement supplied to the Express-News. “Though this journey was difficult, challenging, and dark at times, I remained unbroken. Redemption is not just a cliché — I did my time. I’ve been paying my restitution, and I am redeemed, all thanks to our Lord. I’m in a fabulous state of mind, body, and spirit.”
Uresti was elected to the Texas House in 1997 and served for nine years before running for a Texas Senate seat. His 12-year-stint in the upper chamber came crashing down amid his 2017 indictment.
He was sentenced to prison the following year and ordered to pay $6.3 million to investors who lost money by investing in FourWinds Logistics, an oilfield services business for which he served as general counsel.
In 2019, Uresti also pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bribery to settle accusations that he facilitated a scheme to help a medical services company win a county jail contract.
Uresti was released from federal prison in Bastrop in June 2023 after serving more than four years of his sentence, and he transferred to a San Antonio halfway house. He was in that facility for roughly a year before serving the last six months of his time on home confinement, the Express-News reports.
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This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2024.
